The present invention relates to a coin transfer or feeding apparatus and more particularly to an improved apparatus of the type for transferring coins to a coin counting process, a coin selecting process or the like by way of a coin passage under centrifugal force caused by rotation of a rotary disc.
A hitherto known coin transfer apparatus of the above rotary disc type essentially comprises a rotary disc, a coin passage extending from the periphery of the rotary disc and located flush with the upper surface of the rotary disc and a coin thickness limiting member disposed between the periphery of the rotary disc and the inlet part of the coin passage so as to prevent coins in piles from entering the coin passage. The coin thickness limiting member is mounted at an elevated position having a height appreciably more than the thickness of coins to be transferred so that just a single coin passes beneath the coin thickness limiting member toward the coin passage. Thus, it serves to prevent any two stacked coins from entering the coin passage. The coin passage is generally in operative connection with a coin counting passage or a coin selecting passage for selecting received coins in accordance with their kind so that a combination of the coin passage and the coin counting passage or the coin selecting passage serves as a coin counter or a coin selector.
In practice, coins to be handled have a different thickness. In an extreme case thicker coins have two or more times the thickness of thinner coins. The result is that the conventional coin transfer apparatus cannot transfer coins to the coin counting passage or the coin selecting passage correctly when there exists an extremely high difference in thickness among the coins. This is because that the height of the coin thickness limiting member measured from the rotary disc is dimensioned so as to allow the thickest coin to pass therethrough, causing two stacked thinner coins to pass or get jammed in the space defined between the coin thickness limiting member and the rotary disc. For the reason the conventional coin transfer apparatus of the above-described type is used only when coins having few difference in thickness are transferred to the coin counting passage or the coin selecting passage. This means that the scope of application is very limitative. Another drawback is that coin jamming tends to take place beneath the coin thickness limiting member when a deformed coin or the like is delivered thereto while it is mixed among other normal coins of a specific kind.
Due to the arrangement that the conventional rotary disc type coin transfer apparatus is equipped with the coin thickness limiting member, a trouble such as coin jamming or the like takes place unavoidably.
As is well known, the coin passage on the conventional coin transfer apparatus for conveying coins from the rotary disc is constructed by a combination of a coin guide piece of which inlet part is located along the periphery of the rotary disc and a coin introduction piece in operative connection with said coin guide piece. The width of the inlet part of the coin guide piece as well as the coin passage can be previously adjusted in dependence on the diameter of coins to be transferred prior to starting operation of the apparatus.
In a certain country, larger coins having a diameter two or more times larger than that of smaller coins are used. When coins having various diameters are transferred toward the coin passage while they are mixed at random, there is a tendency that two coins arranged in the transverse direction enter the coin passage via the inlet part thereof. This causes coin jamming to take place often at the inlet part of the coin passage.
Therefore, a coin counter, a coin selector or the like in operative connection with the rotary disc type coin transfer apparatus can be operated only when various kinds of coins having the substantially same thickness and diameter are transferred thereto while they are mixed at random.